Thw Dutch-American pianist, conductor, teacher, and composer, Paul van Katwijk, studied at The Hague Conservatory, then in Berlin with Klatte and in Vienna with Leopold Godowsky.

In 1912 Paul van Katwijk settled in the USA. He taught at Drake University in Des Moines from 1914 to 1918, and also conducted the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra. In 1918 he was appointed dean of music at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas; resigned in 1949, but continued to teach piano there until 1955. He was conductor of the Dallas Municipal Opera from 1922 to 1925, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from 1925 to 1936.